Internal Reforms of the Uchiha

As autumn gave way to spring, Danzo Shimura behaved himself for quite some time.

Both the Hokage and the Uchiha enjoyed a relatively peaceful stretch of days.

Danzo, however, was having a rough time.

First of all, his reputation had never been good, making his espionage work in various countries extremely difficult.

If his Root wanted to recruit more people and expand, it still needed to borrow personnel from the major ninja clans.

But because of Sarutobi, the Hyuga, and the Uchiha incident—

His Root found it difficult to recruit highly capable jonin for a while.

He could even see mothers in Konoha's streets using him as their go-to method for disciplining their children.

For example, a conversation between a mother and child.

"Mom, I don't want to eat."

"If you don't eat, Danzo Shimura will take you away."

There was another variation as well.

"Don't cry. If you keep crying, I'll have Danzo Shimura take you away."

The moment the child heard that, he immediately stopped crying.

It could be said that Danzo Shimura had made a tremendous contribution to education.

Speaking of education, Uchiha Yato had recently discovered that the Uchiha had plenty of internal problems as well.

The first was related to education.

The Uchiha worshipped strength above all else, which had cultivated their competitive, aggressive nature.

This was especially true of the Uchiha's true young seedlings.

Of course, Obito, who was currently the same age as Kakashi at three, and two-year-old Shisui did not count.

These Uchiha children were incredibly domineering at the Ninja Academy.

Such habits were not good. The Uchiha rose through military strength, and they would fall through military strength as well.

During the Warring States period, it was precisely their exceptional combat power that made both the Uchiha and Senju great clans.

But in the era of ninja villages, that powerful combat strength could both pacify external enemies and guard against political rivals.

However, the Senju had completely integrated into Konoha. Of the two great clans that could have kept each other in check, one was gone.

This allowed the Uchiha's arrogant nature to show itself in full, and that was why the Uchiha would ultimately have to be eradicated by Konoha.

In the original story, had no one tried to change this?

Someone had. From the very beginning, Uchiha Kagami and Uchiha Shisui had both been examples.

They naively believed that making certain changes would earn the higher-ups' understanding and the villagers' acceptance.

Some of the moderate faction among the Uchiha leadership were fairly easy to persuade.

But the more radical faction among the leadership was not like that.

Since that was the case, why not take another path?

The stubborn ideas of the older generation could be challenged by the new ideas of the younger generation.

Of course, there would inevitably be clashes and unpleasantness along the way, but that could not be avoided.

So that very night, Uchiha Yato launched another nighttime raid on Uchiha Kei's home.

Why "another"?

Whenever Uchiha Yato had something urgent to handle before, he would barge into Uchiha Kei's house regardless of the time or place.

If not for the fact that Uchiha Yato had no romantic scandals, and aside from being unreliable over the years—

He had never done anything else excessive, nor had anyone heard of him being involved with any woman. Otherwise, all sorts of unsavory rumors would have spread long ago.

Uchiha Kei came to the reception room to speak with Uchiha Yato.

But his face was as black as the bottom of a pot. As always, if not for Uchiha Yato's personality—

He would probably have thought he was wearing a green hat right then.

To explain this, one had to start with the way Uchiha Yato greeted them when he arrived.

Standing outside the window, Uchiha Yato quietly said, "Sister-in-law, open the door."

His voice was loud enough for the people inside to hear, but quiet enough that passersby nearby would not.

But Uchiha Kei and his wife were both inside, and Uchiha Yato had called for his wife first.

That made Uchiha Kei extremely uncomfortable. He always felt as though someone had stolen his home.

Uchiha Kei's wife could tell that her husband was uncomfortable.

So she said, "The window isn't locked. Just come in."

Uchiha Kei's wife had intended to say, "You two talk. I'll make you some tea."

Then she could make a graceful exit while giving her husband plenty of face.

But after coming in, Uchiha Yato immediately said—

"Sister-in-law, the clan head isn't home today, right?"

"I came to discuss something with you."

Well, that did it. There had been nothing wrong to begin with.

But upon hearing those two lines, Uchiha Kei's face instantly turned green. He was sitting right there, alive and well. What exactly did Uchiha Yato mean by that?

That left all three of them in silence.

Uchiha Yato then explained, "Isn't the education of our clan managed by your wife?"

"Then of course I came to speak with her. I was thinking, could our clan carry out educational reforms?"

Once the conversation turned to the real topic, Uchiha Kei's wife said—

"Whatever the topic is today, speak with Kei first."

"Even if it concerns education, the elders still need to approve it. I'll go make tea for you. You two talk first."

With that, she created an opportunity for Uchiha Yato and Uchiha Kei to speak alone.

After Uchiha Kei's wife left, Uchiha Kei immediately went berserk.

"You brat!"

"You come to my house in the middle of the night instead of sleeping."

"What exactly are you trying to do?!"

Uchiha Yato also felt that he had gone a little too far. After all, his behavior was somewhat uncouth.

Lowering his head, he explained aggrievedly—

"Have I not always been like this?"

"The main thing is, the Uchiha's problems are too serious right now. I just hope the clan can develop properly."

Uchiha Kei finally joked, "Forget it. Just don't come climbing out of my wardrobe."

Uchiha Yato had to add one more cheap remark.

"Then I'll climb out from under your bed."

In the end, after Uchiha Kei gave him a verbal lesson, they finally got down to business.

Uchiha Kei said, "You came here today because you want to reform Uchiha education?"

Uchiha Yato said, "Yes. I feel that our children are all too hot-blooded."

Uchiha Kei did not immediately understand Uchiha Yato's choice of words.

Uchiha Yato said, "When most students or civilians at the Ninja Academy mention the Uchiha, they only use two words."

"Arrogant."

Uchiha Yato's tone became somewhat heavy when he said that, and Uchiha Kei's expression did not look good either.

Uchiha Yato let Uchiha Kei calm himself before continuing. "Do you think I'm exaggerating?"

"Do you feel that these people don't understand great clans at all, or that everything they say is sheer nonsense?"

Uchiha Kei nodded. As the clan head of the Uchiha, he valued honor more than his own life and would not permit anyone to slander the Uchiha.

But it was precisely because of that upright and uncompromising character that the Uchiha Police Force so easily drew resentment.

After thinking for a moment, Uchiha Kei said, "So what does that have to do with education?"

Yato took a sip of tea and said, "The older generation, as well as us, are very difficult to change now. Our thinking has already solidified."

"But young people like Uchiha Shisui and Obito can still be pulled back."

"Saving the Uchiha starts with the children. That is my plan."

After hearing Uchiha Yato's plan, Uchiha Kei pondered for a while before finally saying—

"Tomorrow, we'll discuss it with the elders. Some things must be corrected."

Uchiha Kei had essentially agreed with Uchiha Yato's proposal. The key now was persuading those old fossils.

That would depend on Uchiha Yato's gift for talking.